Summary
•Bond refinancing underway with $275m raised in US private placement market; September 2018 bond to be redeemed before financial year end resulting in approx. £14m in interest savings from next year
•US tax changes expected to reduce Group effective tax rate to mid-20's percentage
•Reported Group revenue +10.7% year to date; Group revenue in constant currency1 and excluding the new SWR rail franchise +1.1% year to date
•For four of our divisions the trading trends in the period were similar to the first half. However, Greyhound's long-haul business was affected by intensifying airline competition, including in the key holiday season
•All three North American divisions also encountered extremely challenging weather conditions in January
•As a result, the Group's outlook for adjusted EPS is slightly reduced overall, but there is no change to management's expectation of substantial cash generation for the year
https://www.investegate.co.uk/firstgrou ... 0000P11B6/